Cause Marketing in and for Patagonia

Patagonia, that region of Chile and Argentina at the southern tip of South America famous for its beauty and end-of-the-earth ruggedness, had a terrible fire in 2011 that left vast areas denuded of trees. Now a Santiago, Chile-based cause called Reforest Patagonia is working to replant a million trees in four of Chile’s national parks and reserves, and they’re asking for your help.

Here’s how it works: they ask that you go to www.reforestpatagonia.com and donate $4. They’ll plant a tree in your name and email you the gps coordinates of where your tree will be planted.

The website is reminiscent in its own way of the fundraising platform called www.supportewall.com which enables nonprofits to easily set up online donor walls.

I conducted a Twitter interview… my first ever… with Brenna Loury, an American by birth, but a Chilean by adoption. She got her start in Chile working for Habitat for Humanity there. That’s my first question and Brenna’s response in 140 characters or less at the left.

My thanks to Brenna for her double-quick responses to my questions.

@ReforestPatagon Q2: What’s your organization’s mission?

@paulrjones Mission: to recover one of the world’s most important ecosystems (Chilean Patagonia) by planting 1M trees before the year's end.

@ReforestPatagon Q3: I think of Patagonia as being wild and untamed. How severe is the deforestation there?

@paulrjones 42,500 acres in Torres del Paine National Park, one of Chile's top ecosystems/destinations, were destroyed in last year's fire.

@ReforestPatagon Q4: Who are the main people involved?

@paulrjones the main ppl involved are those that you can see in this album: http://ow.ly/bRm2p. We also have major sponsors like @LAN_CL.

@ReforestPatagon Q5: How does the replanting work?

@paulrjones ppl buy their trees of 3 native species and receive their GPS here: http://ow.ly/bRmsx– our team in Patagonia plants them.

@ReforestPatagon Q6: Tell me about your promotion?

@paulrjones trees are worth $4 & our goal is to sell/plant 1M before the year's end by pairing w/ public/private institutions & individuals.

@ReforestPatagon Q7: Where did the idea come from?

@paulrjones the idea came from the great pain that was evoked from the fire in Torres del Paine in 2011. We felt a powerful call to action.

@ReforestPatagon Q8: What are your goals for the promotion?

@paulrjones 1 million trees sold & planted in Chile's pristine Patagonia by the year's end! Trees can be bought here: http://ow.ly/bRn9K!

@ReforestPatagon Q9: How are you promoting it?

@paulrjones in digital & traditional press, social media, among organizations, & word of mouth. Our intn'l campaign is just kicking off :)

@ReforestPatagon Q10: How will you use the money raised?

@paulrjones the money goes to planting trees and the campaign's costs. #ReforestPatagonia is 100% non-profit.

@ReforestPatagon Q11: How long will the promotion continue?

@paulrjones the campaign will last at least until the end of the year or until we reach our goal of planting 1 Million trees.

@ReforestPatagon Q12: What kind of response have you gotten so far from English-speaking countries? What about the Latin countries?

@paulrjones an incredibly overwhelming response here in #Chile & we're hoping for the same as we expand #ReforestPatagonia internationally.

@ReforestPatagon Q13: What suggestions do you have for NPO/NGOs considering something like this?

@paulrjones be transparent, gather an outstanding team that executes, and use communication tools to the max!

@ReforestPatagon Q14: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

@paulrjones to learn more abt this (literally) groundbreaking campaign & to plant your tree pls visit: http://ow.ly/bRpoV. Thank you!! :D

Batting Your Eyelashes at Prescription Drug Cause Marketing

I’m a little chary about making sweeping pronouncements, but I believe I've just seen the first cause marketing promotion in the U.S. involving a prescription drug. The drug is from Allergan and it’s called Latisse , “the first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough eyelashes.” The medical name for this condition is hypotrichosis. Latisse is lifestyle drug the way Viagra or Propecia are. That is, no one’s going to die (except, perhaps, of embarrassment) if their erectile dysfunction or male pattern baldness or thin eyelashes go untreated. Which means the positioning for a product like Latisse is a little tricky. Allergan could have gone with the sexy route as with Viagra or Cialis and showed lovely women batting their new longer, thicker, darker eyelashes. But I’ll bet that approach didn’t test well with women. (I’m reminded of a joke about the Cialis ads from a comedian whose name I can’t recall. He said, “Hey if my erection lasts longer than ...

Cause Marketing: The All Packaging Edition

One way to activate a cause marketing campaign when the sponsor sells a physical product is on the packaging. I started my career in cause marketing on the charity side and I can tell you that back in the day we were thrilled to get a logo on pack of a consumer packaged good (CPG) or even just a mention. Since then, there’s been a welcome evolution of what sponsors are willing and able to do with their packaging in order to activate their cause sponsorships. That said, even today some sponsors don’t seem to have gotten the memo that when it comes to explaining your cause campaign, more really is more, even on something as small as a can or bottle. The savviest sponsors realize that their only guaranteed means of reaching actual customers with a cause marketing message is by putting it on packaging. And the reach and frequency of the media on packaging for certain high-volume CPG items is almost certainly greater than radio, print or outdoor advertising, and, in many cases, TV. More to ...

Chili’s and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

I was in Chili’s today and I ordered their “Triple-Dipper,” a three appetizer combo. While I waited for the food, I noticed another kind of combo. Chili’s is doing a full-featured cause-related marketing campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There was a four-sided laminated table tent outlining the campaign on the table. When the waitress brought the drinks she slapped down Chili’s trademark square paper beverage coasters and on them was a call to action for an element of the campaign called ‘Create-A-Pepper,’ a kind of paper icon campaign. The wait staff was all attired in black shirts co-branded with Chili’s and St. Jude. The Create-A-Pepper paper icon could be found in a stack behind the hostess area. The Peppers are outlines of Chili’s iconic logo meant to be colored. I paid $1 for mine, but they would have taken $5, $10, or more. The crayons, too, were co-branded with the ‘Create-A-Pepper’ and St. Jude’s logos. There’s also creatapepper.com, a microsite, but again wi...

Cause Marketing

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